COMBAT STORIES FROM Korea

Jack King |
1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

3:06 | Laying in a foxhole during a mortar barrage, Jack King thought for a moment about sticking a foot up and possibly getting a million dollar wound. That feeling passed. He recalls the story of a young replacement Marine who came into the unit really gung-ho. That also passed. (This interview made possible with the support of RALPH J. TINGLE.)

Korea

He didn't like the look of the Navy uniform so Jack King joined the Marines. While he was at boot camp, the Korean War broke out and the drill instructor sent them off with a promise about guarding the home front while they were gone. He landed at Inchon after a tense climb down the cargo net and it wasn't long before he saw his first dead Marine. (This interview made possible with the support of RALPH J. TINGLE.)

Moving on after the Inchon landing, Jack King recalls how a liberated brewery supplied the men beverages right in the foxhole. He didn't drink but he did try some well water which led to his new nickname, "Frog." He was a mortarman and, typically, was behind the front lines where the direct fire was minimal. While observing the Korean people, he developed an admiration of their ingenuity. (This interview made possible with the support of RALPH J. TINGLE.)

How was the weather up there? Marine mortarman Jack King will give you an earful about the weather in Korea, especially the freezing cold in the north. He remembers a time when he had on two of everything and it didn't really work. During the retreat from the Chosin Reservoir, it was at least 30 degrees below zero. (This interview made possible with the support of RALPH J. TINGLE.)

After Seoul was secured, the Marines boarded LST's and went around the peninsula to Wonsan. Jack King was a mortarman who was typically in the rear echelon. He remembers guarding the mountain pass which led to the plateau where the Chosin Reservoir was. (This interview made possible with the support of RALPH J. TINGLE.)

From the time he joined the Marine Corps, Jack King had heard of the exploits of Chesty Puller, the most decorated Marine in history. While serving in Korea, he got to meet the man. (This interview made possible with the support of RALPH J. TINGLE.)

When the entire division hurriedly departed North Korea from the port of Hungnam, the ships were so full that Jack King had to sleep on deck in the frigid weather. When he was safely back at Pusan, he had an experience with the Red Cross that angered him for the rest of his life. Before they headed back north, Chesty Puller adjusted their weaponry for the better. (This interview made possible with the support of RALPH J. TINGLE.)

Jack King was on the rotation list, but he had to saddle up anyway and get up to Horseshoe Ridge. There, the Chinese unleashed a human wave attack and the rear echelon Marine mortarman found himself under direct fire for the first time. It was during a lull in this battle when one of the sergeants opened a Dear John letter. It did not go well. (This interview made possible with the support of RALPH J. TINGLE.)

There was a private in the outfit who had been busted from corporal more than once. Somehow he got hold of some lieutenant's bars and Jack King reveals how this led to the Marine mortar company getting some free transportation courtesy of the Army motorpool. (This interview made possible with the support of RALPH J. TINGLE.)

In Korea, there was a gunner in Jack King's mortar platoon who kept making fun of preachers and religion. The lord had a way of making those guys shut up. (This interview made possible with the support of RALPH J. TINGLE.)

There were aphorisms in the Marine Corps that started with, "old gunney says...." Jack King started a new saying while in Korea, and the unit carried it forward after he came home. He stayed in the Corps two more years, but his obstinance kept him from making it a career. (This interview made possible with the support of RALPH J. TINGLE.)

They never made it back north to the Chosin Reservoir. The advance of the Marines stalled near the 38th parallel and mortarman Jack King recalls how he was threatened with court martial there, twice. The second time, his refusal to load the weapon actually prevented a fatal error. (This interview made possible with the support of RALPH J. TINGLE.)